Voices in the Dark
by LadyJaeza
Summary: Pride and Prejudice variation with a supernatural twist. When Mr. Bennet dies Lizzy ends up at Rosings Park in the position of companion to Lady Catherine. WARNING - only a teaser chapter remains - the completed story has been pulled for publication.


_AN: Although it took me longer than I thought it would, this story has now been pulled for imminent publication on Amazon. What remains is a teaser chapter, although I will say this chapter has been revised in the version to be published._

Lady Jaeza

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

The words echoed around the room, said as they were in something between a wail and shout. "And now Mr. Bennet is dead! If you do not help us, brother, I do not know what we shall do!"

"First, you shall stop screeching. It helps nothing. Then you shall do what you should have done years ago. You shall live within your income." The middle aged man replied in a harshly firm voice.

"Oh, brother! How can you be so heartless? What income do you think we have? There is nothing and _that man_ will be here to throw us into the hedgerows any time now."

"Your husband's heir, Mr. Collins, _will_ be here soon. Phillips notified him as soon as Bennet died. He has no reason to throw you into the hedgerows unless you drive him to with your wailing and incessant complaints. Do be silent, Fanny!" Edward Gardiner finished with a near shout.

Nineteen year old Elizabeth Bennet, known as Lizzy to her family peered around her uncle at the door as he continued more calmly, "You have the interest on your settlement. _That_ is what has been provided for your widowhood."

As her mother began to moan and complain about the hardness of life, Lizzy spoke up, "Where is Jane, Uncle? Should she not be coming in?"

He turned to her and said coldly, "Jane remains in town. She will stay with us for the time being, so I saw no reason to go to the expense of bringing her here just to turn around and take her back again. You, Lizzy, can pack Jane's remaining property in a trunk just as well as Jane could and I shall take it back with me tomorrow."

"But Papa's funeral? She should be here."

"Women do not attend the funeral. She is not necessary here. There are certainly enough wailing women in this house already."

Lizzy looked around. Mary sat quietly with her favorite book of sermons. Kitty and Lydia were giggling to one another, wondering if their uncle had brought presents with him from London. Her mother was the only one wailing, but she could do the work of ten. As if to prove the point she cried out again.

"Oh, my Jane! To think she could be so beautiful for nothing!"

"Jane may _be_ beautiful, but she _has_ nothing." Mr. Gardiner said with asperity. "No money, no accomplishments, none of the other things a man of quality might wish for in a wife. She will earn her keep helping Madeline with the children until I can find one of my colleagues who is willing to overlook her lack of dowry for the pleasure of having a beautiful woman as his wife. She is serene and docile and has learned how to run a household. That _may_ be enough."

"Oh, but you must take Lizzy and Mary as well. I cannot have them here in the way while I try to find husbands for Kitty and Lydia!" Mrs. Bennet wailed again.

"I _must_ do nothing of the sort," he responded abruptly. "It is enough of a favor to you that I take Jane. We have no room for any more of your daughters and Jane is the only one of them ever _likely_ to marry. _If_ she marries soon, I _may_ be willing to take Kitty for a time and see if she can be trained into a proper enough young lady to be married once separated from the wild influence of your youngest daughter."

Lizzy was shivering now. She thought it might be in fear. What had happened to her loving uncle? When had he become this cold, unsympathetic man? Had she ever really known him? He had entered with no greeting, no hugs, no condolences on the loss of her father. Only this horrible argument with her mother.

"I will have no place to keep them. If you will not take us in the Phillips will only have room for me and the two youngest. If I must have them as well we shall end up in the hedgerows as I have always said."

"You are very good at saying things, Fanny, yet doing nothing to help yourself. You and Bennet both have had twenty-four _years_ in which to prepare for this day, yet you have _saved nothing_. Your husband was indolent and weak-willed. He simply laughed instead of trying to rein in your spending or poor behavior. He added nothing to your settlement or to your daughter's dowries and, like you, he expected that Phillips and I would take on the burden of your family at his passing. I begged him to set more funds aside and he laughed at me then used the money to order more port and another rare book. I asked him to insist you not overspend your budget and he waved me off saying it was too much trouble to stop you and you should have your fun while you could. You _have_ had your fun and now you must learn to make do with what is left."

"But you are my brother! Why would you not help us?"

"I may be your brother, but I will not take away from what I have worked so hard to earn to support a silly vain woman and her useless daughters. I will not see my wife and children go hungry so _you_ can continue your life-long spending spree. I will help you, but I will not take you in or pay your bills. That library your husband wasted a lifetime building will start you off, but it will not keep you long if you are not careful. The books are not part of what Mr. Collins will inherit. I have found a buyer for them and will take them back to town with me. The funds can be used to purchase a small cottage. Anything left over will be added to your settlement and invested. Then the interest of your settlement can be used to pay for your other needs, particularly food. You should be _glad_ I am leaving Lizzy with you. She, at least, knows how to set a budget and stick to it. Allow her to manage your household and you _may_ not starve."

Lizzy shivered again but could say nothing. This was a nightmare. It had to be. She would wake up to find it was morning and Papa was waiting in the study for her to greet him before she went out on a walk. There had never been an accident. Papa had not ridden into the village. His horse had not slipped and fallen. He had not hit his head on a rock and died. He was still alive. It was just a nightmare. She _would_ wake up.

She did not wake. If nightmare it was, it continued. She sat in her seat with her arms wrapped around herself and listened while Uncle Gardiner informed her mother that the Phillips would not take her in either, not by herself, not with her daughters. Their house was too small and they had no wish to be burdened with _any_ Bennet female.

Lizzy just listened until Uncle Gardiner had enough of her mother's fussing and walked out. He went to the study to begin packing away the books. As he walked out her mother's wailing grew even louder. It become too much and she jumped up and ran out of the room. Up the stairs she went and to her room. She quickly donned her bonnet and pelisse and was out the door before anyone could call her back, not that anyone tried or even noticed.

As Lizzy walked, she wondered. Had her father _truly_ left nothing for their care? He always joked about her mother's fears. She thought that meant he had something set aside that would show her fears as foolish. She always had that impression, but what if he was fooling her as well?

While Lizzy loved her father she knew her uncle was correct. He was weak-willed and indolent. The only reason he had stirred from his study that horrible day was to go into the village to pick up a new book that had just come in. He had not wished to wait to have it delivered, having just finished the previous volume that morning. Had his books sucked the life out Longbourn along with Mama's wails and nerves and spending sprees?

It was a nightmare. It had to be.

It was not. Lizzy returned to find nothing had changed. Her mother still held court in the drawing room with tears and wails. Mary ignored her while reading her book. Kitty and Lydia still giggled in the corner, although what they could find to giggle about Lizzy could not understand. There seemed to be so much Lizzy could not understand. She headed to the study by habit.

The door stood open. That _was_ different. Papa always kept that door closed. Lizzy looked into the study. More than half the books were already packed. Her Uncle Gardiner looked up as she stood in the doorway.

"Do you have any more books upstairs?" he asked abruptly.

"Only the books that are mine. Those I received as gifts or purchased with my allowance. Father did not like his own books to ever leave the room, although there may be some in his chamber upstairs. I never entered there."

Her uncle nodded. "I will check for any there when I search for anything else he has left. You had best go up and pack Jane's trunk. I will be leaving directly after the funeral tomorrow, so it needs to be ready. Go on."

He turned away and resumed packing. Lizzy started to leave then turned back to ask the question that was bothering her.

"Uncle, why are you angry at me?"

"I am not angry at you. I am angry at your father for leaving everyone else to pick up his messes. I am not responsible for you or any of your sisters. There is no reason for your current financial situation beyond _his_ sloth. As I told your mother, I tried for years to get him to put money aside for your futures and make plans for your well-being and he did nothing."

"I always thought he was just teasing mother by not telling her his plans." Lizzy said. "He could be cruel with her but I never thought he actually left us with nothing."

"Well he did. He cared so little about any of you that he could not be bothered to even have a will or a personal account to protect what property should not have gone to the entail. Everything he had left after buying his books and port was simply dumped into the estate account and so it goes to Mr. Collins."

"Why will you not take me with you back to London? I thought I was welcomed in your house."

"You were welcome as a guest when your father paid your way. I cannot afford more mouths to feed or people to clothe. You are not my responsibility beyond what I am doing here and you mother will need your ability to keep her from simply spending everything at once."

Lizzy recognized the justice of his statements while wondering at the lack of sentiment. She had always thought family looked after one another. Was leaving her there to fight battles with her mother over her spending his way of caring for his sister? To Lizzy it sounded like a recipe for disaster. Her mother would never listen to her. She never had in the past. Lizzy had one more question, although she feared the answer.

"Will I ever see Jane again?"

"It seems unlikely. She had no desire to return even if I had been willing to bring her. She told me she is glad to get away from here and all of you."

"She did not even send me a note?"

"I asked if she wished me to carry one. She told me there was nothing to say beyond a request that you pack her belongings carefully, which I could tell you in person. She is ready to move on. Without your mother's interference we will find her a husband quickly and she will have her own life. You are no longer a part of that." His face briefly looked almost like the sympathetic uncle she was used to seeing. "You must understand, Lizzy, the closeness you apparently thought was between you was just a product of being forced to live in the same household. She is nothing like you, but she saw no reason to ever argue with you about anything."

"I did think we were close. I thought you and I were as well."

"Your father's death changes everything including the relationships you _thought_ you knew. You are receiving quite an education, but then that is what you always said you wanted, is it not? Now, go pack the trunk for Jane. I need to finish here if you are to have anything to live on or any place to live in the future."

This time she did leave. She needed to return to her room before anyone saw her cry. All her life she had taken solace in Jane's affection and a belief that the Gardiners would always be there if she needed help. Now on top of her father's death she found out that Jane's affection was an illusion and her uncle's idea of help was to push her into even closer quarters and further disagreements with the people in her family who understood and cared for her the least. The least? Apparently no one had actually cared for her at all. With that thought she quickened her pace up the stairs.

Lizzy entered the room she and Jane had shared since they left the nursery. Seeing the empty trunk waiting for everything that was left here of her sister, she wondered if the confidences they had shared had been as much an illusion as the affection. Had Jane merely been placating a younger sibling to avoid problems with her? To keep their relationship pleasant since they had to share this space? Suddenly feeling bereft of any stability in her life Lizzy locked the door behind her, then threw herself on the bed to release all the tears that had been building inside her since the moment she learned of her father's death.

She would pack Jane's trunk later. For now she would mourn the relationships she had valued most in her life. She wondered if everything she thought she knew was an illusion.


End file.
